Another Day on the Road
by Kyra Rivers
Summary: It certainly took a long time for the Dragon Knights to get back from recovering Nadil’s head. Or maybe not so long, considering all the side trips, demon fights, and treasure hunts the group went on. A missing tale from the road.
1. Whiny Four Year Old Children

_**Title**: Another Day on the Road_

_Summary__: It certainly took a long time for the Dragon Knights to get back from recovering Nadil's head. Or maybe not so long, considering all the side trips, demon fights, and treasure hunts the group went on. A missing tale from the road, where Rath fights, Thatz whines, and Rune wonders why he's doing this in the first place._

_Notes__: I'm pretty sure that Rune is writing this vicariously through me. Nah, this is just my addition to Manga #1. 'Cause it was so cool. And it's humorous because, well... seriously, read the first manga. That is the funniest shit ever._

_Warnings__: Violence. Much of it threatened by Rune._

_Disclaimer__: Na-na-naaaaa, I can't heeeeear you... _

Another Day on the Road

Strangely enough, Rune awoke to the sound of shouting.

"Thatz!" A smacking sound. "Tell me, Thatz! Tell me, tell me!"

"Tell you what?"

"About the demon! You were just talking about it!"

"I said nothing! Now get off!" There was a brief sound of struggle, and then a loud _bang_ echoed throughout the room. "Ow! Ow, Rath! Ge'off!"

"You're on my arm!"

"Get off – my – HEAD!"

A few moments later, during which – Rune assumed, from his position with his head buried in his pillow – Rath and Thatz struggled, got their clothes tangled up, and wound up breaking both a vase and a table, there was a sudden silence throughout the room. Rune fought the urge to sigh in relief, hoping – but not believing – that the fight was finally over, and he could go back to sleep.

_Please, please, please, just make them shut up_, Rune thought desperately. However, whatever forces were at work in the universe decided not to listen.

"Thatz," Rath whined, breaking the silence, "Tell me about the demons!"

"No! We're not going to go hunt demons!"

"You're just lazy!"

"Yes! And hungry!" Rune heard Thatz begin to walk around – he knew it was Thatz because it was hard to hear the sound of the footsteps, even though the thief wasn't trying to be quiet; if Thatz hadn't wanted to be heard, Rune knew that he wouldn't have heard. Then Thatz continued, "Where is our breakfast? Didn't Rune pick something up yesterday?"

"It's probably under this mess somewhere," answered Rath, with a pout to his voice that Rune could clearly hear. Envisioning the possible mess that had resulted from the fight, Rune resisted sobbing – it would surely cost more to pay for the damages to the hotel room, and knowing his luck, Rune would have to explain it all. He could picture it now: _"Gosh, I'm sorry about the room, miss. It's just that my companions act like four-year-olds who need to be watched all the time, and I needed to sleep."_ That likely wouldn't go over too well.

There was the sound of shuffling, and another smashing sound. "Oh, shit, I broke a picture. Oh, well. It was ugly anyway."

"Rune's going to be mad at you," sang Rath in a sing-song voice.

"_You're_ the one who started the fight," Thatz defended. "Now help me find the food."

The sounds softened to the steady theme of sorting, and Rune felt himself relaxing once again in sleep. He didn't dare check what time it actually was – likely was way too early to be up. Rune didn't know why Thatz was up, as the thief tended to sleep until it was time to leave – mere minutes before, at times –, but if Thatz was hungry, Rune knew he would forego sleep. It seemed the only thing more important to Thatz than his rest was his stomach. As for Rath, Rune wasn't sure. The demon-hunter was somewhat of an enigma, even now after so many years of knowing him. In any case, it wasn't too strange that Rath was up.

"I found it!" came the all-too-cheerful voice of Rath, and the crumpling sound of paper.

"Great! Give it here!"

"No! Tell me where the demons are!"

"Argh, shut up!" Thatz sounded very aggravated. "I just want to eat. If you ask Rune nicely, maybe he'll let you hunt demons, and _then_ I'll tell you, but right now I just want my food!"

"Rune won't let me! He's _mean_."

"Yes. Yes, he is. Now give me my food."

"Tell me where the demons are! Maybe I can go get one before Rune wakes up!"

"No, Rath! _Please_ give it to me!"

"No!" And then the very distinct sound of someone sticking their tongue out and blowing.

"Argh!" Another loud _bang_, and the sounds of a scuffle. Every so often, Rune could hear a distinct voice or threat – "Dammit, Rath!", "Take that! Bah!" –, but for the most part, the sounds all melted together into one loud fight. Rune's fists clenched.

"Give it to me! Ouch! You ass!"

"All – ow! – you have to do – omph – is tell me!"

"Hey, stop pulling my hair!"

"Ack! You _bit me!_"

Rune could feel his fingers twitching, his veins throbbing, and his eyebrows narrowing. Even his hair felt stressed. His annoyance was growing with increasing intensity.

"You deserved it – ow! Ow, ow, ow! That hurt!"

"I'm _bleeding_!"

"You didn't have to kick me! Now – give me my – FOOD!"

"No! You'll never get it! Now that you've _bit me!_"

Finally, Rune had enough. He sat up, rubbing sleep out of his eyes and glaring at his roommates in one move, his body trembling with irritation.

"Would both of you _shut the HELL up_?!" snapped Rune, eyebrow twitching. Like rats who have suddenly noticed the presence of a cat, Rath and Thatz halted mid-fight, both poised quite humorously in the midst of attacking each other. They had enough grace to look shameful, though they clearly were just waiting to see how Rune would react.

Rune calmed down a bit, opting to simply glower at the two of them balefully for waking him up, and deliberately not noticing the disarray in the room. He didn't have the energy to yell at them. Especially since, Rune noted as he glanced out the window, it was still dark out. Rune sighed, _it's too early to be UP yet, much less baby-sitting these two._ It was just his luck.

Noticing Rune's lack of action, Thatz and Rath relaxed as well, sitting atop a pile of a broken mess. For a few blessed moments, no one said anything. But then Rath opted to try his luck.

"Rune? Do _you_ know where the demons are located?"

And that was it.

"Argh!" Rune cried out, unable to express just _how_ irritated he really was. Instead he grabbed his pillow and blanket, and stormed towards the door, trying as hard as he could not to turn right around and throttle his roommates.

"Where are you going, Rune?" Thatz asked, apparently recovered from any guilt he may have felt over the whole thing. He was munching calmly on an apple that had fallen from the bag of food.

"Rune?" Rath asked quizzically, resembling nothing more than an innocent child.

"I'm sleeping outside!" snarled Rune in response, and he left, slamming the door on the way out.

Another brief silence occurred, in which Rath and Thatz stared at the closed door with perplexed expressions. Then Thatz turned to Rath.

"I wonder what's wrong with him?"


	2. The Tentacle Monster of DOOM

_**Title**: Another Day on the Road_

Summary: It certainly took a long time for the Dragon Knights to get back from recovering Nadil's head. Or maybe not so long, considering all the side trips, demon fights, and treasure hunts the group went on. A missing tale from the road, where Rath fights, Thatz whines, and Rune wonders why he's doing this in the first place.

Notes: And time for more of this story, with a bit of danger thrown in. It's actually kind of funny, 'cause for about a page in here, the story tries very hard to be taken seriously. It fails miserably, but the half-assed attempt is still there. I'm so proud of my semi-scary action scene. It's almost serious.

Warnings: Anal Retentive!Rune, Conniving!Thatz, Easily Distracted!Rath, and a tentacle demon! Yay!

Disclaimer: Kyra: (is overwhelmed with laughter at the mere suggestion that she owns Dragon Knights) .......

Another Day on the Road

Later that day, the three travelers were back on the road. Rune was still a bit annoyed, but it was slowly abating now that he was out on the road, heading back towards Draqueen (in theory, at least.) At it was, Rune, Rath and Thatz were currently on track.

Kind of.

"I think we turn left here," Thatz said, pointing to the map he had spread out on the ground.

Rune bent over it, frowning. "I don't think that's right. Draqueen is located northeast of here. If we went that way, we be going away from it."

"But see, the line connects with the main road later on–"

"That's pointless," informed Rune. "We should just turn right, we'd get there faster."

Thatz shook his head. "No, that's not good. See, look – the little dots here mean 'danger', so the left path is safer."

Rath, who had been standing away from the map and looking at the surrounding forest in interest, suddenly turned towards them, eyes perking up. "Danger? Do you mean, de–?"

"No!" Rune and Thatz snapped as one.

"But you said–"

"We didn't say anything," Rune smoothed over quickly, glaring at his dark-haired companion. "Nothing at all."

"Maybe you could help us figure this out," Thatz suggested, changing the subject, "instead of sitting there and doing nothing."

Rath made a face, but walked over. He studied the map for a few moments before looking oddly at Rune. Curiously, he asked, "Why are you using a treasure map?"

"What?" Rune frowned, and looked back at the map. And then looked at Thatz's sheepish face. "Thatz! You jerk! Where's the real map?!"

"I traded it for this one," answered the green-haired thief.

"_What?!_"

"Does that mean we can look for demons?" Rath asked, eyes bright. "You said so yourself that the right path takes us closer to Draqueen!"

"I can't believe you'd trade our map for _this!_" Rune continued, ignoring Rath.

"I can," muttered Rath, rolling his eyes.

"It was a good trade!" Thatz defended. "It's still a perfectly good map."

"For _thieves_, maybe!" Rune snapped, snatching the map from Thatz's hands. Examining it thoroughly, Rune argued, "Look! Draqueen is barely even noted! And it says–" Rune peered at the map closely, "–to avoid it at all costs because it repels demons! Thatz! This is a demon map!"

"Really?" Thatz queried, looking dubious.

"Great!" Rath cheered, and he grabbed the map from Rune's hands before the latter could prevent it. "We can go hunt demons now!"

"No!" Rune instructed, trying to take the map back. "Rath, give that back!"

"But I need the map to find out where the demons are."

"We are _not_ hunting demons!" Rune apprised. "We are going back to Draqueen immediately."

"Hmm," Thatz murmured to himself, eyes narrowed in thought, "I guess the little dots don't mean danger. I mean, if it's a _demon_ map..."

Rune suddenly froze. He turned to Thatz, looking strangely worried, and asked, "Thatz, didn't you say that this map recommended this path?"

"Huh?" Thatz blinked. "Er – yeah..."

Suddenly, the ground beneath the three travelers started trembling, causing an unnatural silence to descend upon the land. Thatz, Rath, and Rune all looked down at their feet, varying expressions of confusion mixed with concern evident on their faces.

"Is that a demon?" questioned Rath, confusion changing into eagerness even as he asked.

"Oh–" Rune began.

"Shit!" concluded Thatz as the ground beneath them exploded outward.

The air rushed around Rune as he felt himself being thrown to the side, the ground suddenly absent from beneath his feet. Vaguely, he heard the shouts of his friends to either side of him, but it was all he could do to try and regain his footing. Unfortunately, considering the lack of ground, that wasn't happening, and Rune felt himself flying haphazardly through the air. For a few brief moments, Rune felt a terror unlike anything he had ever known – he was falling, and at the speed he was going, it wasn't likely to be a gentle landing. He braced himself for impact, but was jolted out of his fear as something abruptly snatched him out of the air. Dazed, Rune was so relieved to have stopped falling that he barely noticed his new predicament.

It was only after a couple seconds that Rune realized he was being held by a tentacle. And that many others were wrapping themselves around his arms and legs.

"Aghh!" Rune yelled, thrashing against the appendages, which were a mottled sort of green, and rather disgustingly slimy. He tried to reach for his sword, but unfortunately, the hilt was blocked by the thick tentacle that was wrapping itself around his chest. Rune attempted to wriggle out of the tentacle's tight grip, but he couldn't get a good grip on the slippery skin. Not only that, but the other tentacles were beginning to have success: his feet were tied together already, and at that moment, Rune felt one of the thin appendages wrap around his sword arm, pulling it tight away from his body. His shoulder wrenching in pain, Rune gasped, and the other tentacles took advantage of the momentary weakness; almost instantly, Rune felt himself rendered nearly immobile, as the tentacles twisted around his form.

"Rath!" Rune called, struggling vainly against his sudden cage. "Thatz!" The blonde-haired warrior couldn't hear either of his companions, though whether or not that was a good thing, Rune didn't know. "Rath! Thatz! Where are yo–?"

His voice was cut off as the many different tentacles began to tighten, causing Rune to gasp for breath, eyes wide. The tension didn't release as he stopped talking, and it was all too soon that Rune began seeing spots, and a haze of darkness affected his vision.

"Ra– ath..." gasped Rune, his struggles weak. "Tha..."

And all went dark.

* * *

Rune awoke to a dim light, and could hear voices murmuring somewhere to his right. As his senses returned, Rune could feel the burning pain in his shoulder, as well as a sticky substance dripping down the side of his face. _Blood_, thought Rune, resisting the urge to wipe it away. From the feeling of bindings around his wrists and legs, Rune suspected that he had been captured by whatever it was that had attacked them. All in all, not a good situation to be in.

However, considering that Rune had been expecting worse – such as, not to wake up at all –, he wasn't too upset. Kind of irritated, though.

It took awhile for all of his senses to return, but it wasn't long before Rune could make out the voices talking nearby.

"–had to let him get away, didn't you?" one voice, feminine, was snarling. "The only one we were actually instructed to get, and you let him get away. Great job. Really."

"Oh, leave me alone," another, male-sounding, voice whined. "We got the other two. He'll come for them."

"_Illusar_ will come for _them_?" the woman asked, incredulous. "You forget who you're talking about."

"He likes them."

"Idiot. He doesn't _like_ anyone."

"He'll come for them," the man defended. "Even if he doesn't like him, he won't just _leave_ them here. It goes against his purposes."

"Whatever," the woman muttered. "We wouldn't even be having this conversation if you had just captured Illusar in the first place."

"Leave me alone."

By this time, Rune had figured out that they were talking about Rath. Which meant that he and Thatz were captured, unfortunately. However, Rune could feel the presence of water nearby – they hadn't taken his sword far – and figured that Thatz was somewhere near as well. He didn't dare open his eyes yet, however. Rune didn't want them to know he was awake until _he_ was ready.

Unfortunately, Rune's thoughts were cut short as he heard footsteps heading towards him. They stopped beside his body, and Rune felt a rush of air as the person knelt down. The man said, "I don't see why he wouldn't come back. If _I_ was traveling with such a pretty thing, I would..." The man trailed off, and Rune nearly gave himself away as he felt a course hand brush along his cheek. The nerve! Indignation coursed through Rune's veins.

The woman snorted. "I keep forgetting that you're a human. And a pathetic one, at that."

"Just because he's a dragon doesn't make him any less beautiful," argued the man, and Rune could feel the leer he knew the man held. Despite this, Rune still wanted to feign unconsciousness – however, when the man began toying with his hair, Rune had enough. (After all, _seriously_. Not only was he straight, he was also an ELF. Hair was valued.)

"Don't touch me," hissed Rune, snapping his eyes open and giving the man – who was both ugly and disgusting, to Rune's eyes – his most intimidating glare. Even though, for the majority of his life, Rune had been a faerie, he was very good at the glare. It was something Rune was rather proud of, actually.

The man flinched back.

"You're awake," he said, startled.

Rune sniffed scornfully and looked away. He caught a glance of Thatz, who was likewise tied up and awake. The thief looked irritated but – noticing Rune's predicament – also rather amused. Rune glared, silently warning Thatz that any comments about his faerie heritage or "prettiness" would _not_ be appreciated. Thatz attained a too-innocent expression, and Rune clenched his fists.

"You're the water dragon knight, then?" the woman asked, and Rune looked up to see a demon lady staring down at him. She continued, "Your little friend wasn't very forthcoming with answers, but it's pretty obvious. Will you be more willing to talk?"

Rune answered her with a glare.

The demon rolled her eyes and sighed, "Thought not. Oh, well."

"It's not like we can't torture them or something," the man said, glaring at the demon with irritation in his eyes. "I mean, really, anyone will talk after a few hours of whipping or something."

"Maybe that works for weak little humans," snarled the demon, "But for demons and Dragons, it's a bit different. We're more resilient. And I already _told_ you that we're not going to torture them. Would you stop be such a sadist?"

"As soon as you stop being such a bitch."

Rune glanced at Thatz with a quizzical expression on his face; Thatz shrugged. Then, noticing the ropes around Rune's limbs, Thatz wiggled his hands enough for Rune to tell that Thatz had untied himself. Obviously, their kidnappers weren't exactly the best in the business.

Taking Thatz's advice, Rune set silently to work on his own bindings, trying his best to tune out the sound of the two bickering kidnappers.

As he worked, Rune couldn't help but wonder why it was that they were never captured by anyone halfway skillful. It was really quite annoying.


	3. How to Suck at Kidnapping

_**Title**: Another Day on the Road_

_**Summary**: It certainly took a long time for the Dragon Knights to get back from recovering Nadil's head. Or maybe not so long, considering all the side trips, demon fights, and treasure hunts the group went on. A missing tale from the road, where Rath fights, Thatz whines, and Rune wonders why he's doing this in the first place._

_**Notes**: Wow. It's been awhile since I've written for this story. And, I gotta be honest... this is spur-of-the-moment kind of story. Not just in the sense of "Oh, random idea!", but also in the sense of, "Hey, I have an hour, how 'bout I write a chapter for my Dragon Knights story?" So. Yeah. I really have no clue where this is going. Feel free to suggest stuff. It might get me to write more. (As it is, it's a procrastination tool. Very helpful.) Mm, but I still love Rune. Even if he is a Prude._

_And why the random Alfeegi and Kai-Stern? ...Why not?_

_**Warnings**: Lost!Rath, Prude!Rune, Dirty!Thatz, Ranting!Alfeegi and Woe-Is-Kai-Stern._

_**Disclaimer**: God, I would be the worst author EVER. X.x;_

**Another Day on the Road**

Rath was lost.

It was really kind of embarassing, actually. He even had a map, and for all he knew, he could be in the Haunted Swamp Lands of Quam (though Rath was fairly sure that, even if there was such a place, he was not anywhere near there. Hopefully.) But as it was, Rath had been wandering around for about an hour after being attacked -- if you could call it that -- by a tentacle demon and loosing Rune and Thatz.

Which got him started on his two partners, and how they always managed to get themselves lost, and really, would it be so hard to just stick together? But Rath didn't mind especially: he knew it wasn't _necessarily_ Rune and Thatz's fault they kept getting themselves lost, and besides, everyone knew demons were more prone to attack a single person than a group. Really, they were doing him a favor by disappearing.

But it was still kind of annoying. Thatz had the food, and Rune had the money.

All Rath had was a map.

A map that he couldn't read. Not because he _couldn't_ read, but because it was a demon map, and therefore, made no sense at all. Or maybe it was the fact that Rath didn't know where he was to begin with, therefore rendering a map completely useless. (How would he know which way to go anyway?)

So Rath was lost. And he figured that he would continue staying lost until he found a town, or at least until Rune showed up to yell at him about getting lost -- it wasn't his fault, this time; Rune and Thatz were the ones who disappeared when that tentacle demon slithered away into the forest. Rath had fallen into a natural crevice of some sort, and when he had emerged, Thatz, Rune, and Mr. Tentacle-Demon were all gone.

Rath frowned. Now he was lost _and_ annoyed.

He pulled out the map-that-was-no-use again. Draqueen, it said, was to the south. Or to the north. Or to the east, or the west, or hell, straight up in the sky. Rath didn't know. Being able to follow a map required that one knew where one was in the first place, which was really stupid, when Rath thought about it. Why would you even need a map if you knew where you were?

All this thinking was really getting him nowhere.

"And what is a single dragon doing in a Demon forest?" a voice whispered from above him.

Rath jerked, startled out of his map-studying. He glanced up.

Crouched on a tree branch was a fanged, brown-furred creature about half the size of Rath. Its skin was stretched tight over its snout, which was tilted awkwardly downwards, and its eyes were a luminescent blue-green. It was currently watching Rath with a mixture of curiousity and hunger.

Rath smiled.

"Wow, my day just got better," he murmured, half to himself, as he looked up at the creature above him. Its horned tail curled dangerously around the tree branch. Shoving the map into his pocket, Rath asked, "So, what's your name, demon?"

"....." The demon's eye narrowed as it regarded Rath; clearly, none of its prey had ever asked such a blantant question.

"Well, I'm Rath," continued Rath, cheerfully ignoring the awkward silence eminating from the demon in question. "Just curious, d'ya know how to get to Draqueen? I'm kind of lost."

"......." The demon stared some more, clearly at a loss, before regaining its composture somewhat. It hissed at Rath, "You are a foolish dragon! I'll kill you right now!"

"That's nice," Rath replied conversationally, leaning against a tree. "Could you tell me where Draqueen is first?"

The demon, simpleminded at the best of times and having only paused in its attack out of sheer confusion, lunged at Rath. The Fire Dragon Knight, who had been expecting this with a cheeky smile, dodged skillfully, and launched himself into the fight. It was a short fight, in which a "thump!" a "smash!" and a rather disturbing sounding "CR-RACK!" echoed through the dark forest.

Two minutes later, Rath was back to studying the map in a much better mood, while a bloody and misshapen form lay on the ground behind him.

It took him all of thirty seconds to realize something, and feel incredibly dumb for having not thought of it earlier.

"...why didn't I just let Fire out and have him fly and see where we were?" he asked himself, rolling his eyes. "How stupid."

* * *

Meanwhile, back with the wannabe kidnappers...

"I told you, we should leave one outside to taunt Illusar to come!"

"If he's close enough to SEE one of them, he probably already knows they're HERE, stupid!"

"Seeing one will incite his rage!"

"Who wants that?!"

"It'll get him here quicker!"

"No! It! Won't!"

The argument had gone on for a little over fifteen minutes now, by Rune's count, and after about the first minute, it all began sounding the same. Mican -- the human male who liked Rune's looks (thatsickpervert) -- would suggest something to get Rath here faster (so they could... kidnap him too? Kill him? Play freeze tag? Rune wasn't sure on their purpose, exactly.) Then Erinatsu -- the demon chick -- would denounce him, generally in a very annoyed manner. And it would continue like that.

Over. And over. And over again.

"So," Thatz murmured quietly as he picked up his pack, "How long 'til you suppose they stop?"

"I'm not sure if they even will," replied Rune.

The two Dragon Knights were standing at the mouth of the cave, both untied, packed, cleaned of mud and prepared to leave the dismal, smelly cavern. And they would have left already, except that neither was used to having such a lax guard. It was disconcerting.

"This is pathetic," Thatz muttered, rolling his eyes.

"I know," Rune agreed. "_Rath_ could do a better job guarding us than these guys could. In a forest full of demons, no less."

"Well, yes, that," said Thatz, "but I was talking about the sexual tension. Seriously, they should just have sex and be done with it."

There was a long, awkward silence before Thatz realized that Rune was gaping at him, looking startled and somewhat disgusted. Thatz pulled a face.

"What?" he asked. "Look, just because that Mican guy was all gay with you, doesn't mean that he's--"

"Stop right there."

"What? I was just saying, it's not like the demon chick is--"

"Thatz, stop talking."

"I mean, they should just get to fuc--"

"STOP."

"Geez, Rune, you know I'm right."

"Let's go find Rath."

"Fine, fine, let's go..."

And so they left the cave with the sounds of shouting echoing on the walls behind them. It was still fairly light outside -- by Rune's calculations, they hadn't been in the cave more than an hour, at most --, and Rune could almost recognize a few of the landmarks. Even without the map -- or Rath -- it wouldn't be too hard to get back on track. The two Dragon Knights turned right and began the long walk home.

".....you're a prudish Elf, you know that?"

"Shut up, Thatz."

* * *

Alfeegi was not in a pleasant mood.

Of course, those who knew Alfeegi might debate that the man was never really in a pleasant mood. "Tolerable" was the word most often used when describing Alfeegi in a mood that wasn't scary or angry or maniacal. And even then -- he was still a little bit maniacal. (It was debated around the castle that it was an inherent familial condition. But never in Alfeegi's earshot.)

But.

Alfeegi was not in a pleasant mood, and Kai-Stern was the one having to listen to it all.

"They haven't returned YET, Kai-stern!" Alfeegi was ranting as Kai-Stern leaned back in his chair, trying his hardest not to yawn. "They went out to retrieve Nadil's head over a month ago -- a MONTH -- and still haven't come back! Really, it should not take three trained Dragon Knights over a month to retrieve one object!"

Kai-Stern fought back a yawn by swallowing quickly, nodding as if agreeing with the ranting officer. It wasn't as though he wasn't interested in the subject -- Kai-Stern was just as worried about the three Knights as anyone --, but Alfeegi had a talent for turning five minute discussions into three hour long rant sessions, and Kai-Stern was growing weary of the topic.

"Well?" Alfeegi asked, raising an eyebrow at his bespeckled friend. Kai-Stern abruptly realized that he wanted an answer.

"Well...," Kai-Stern fumbled, grasping for a response. "Think of who we're talking about, Alfeegi. I mean, Rune is perfectly responsible, but he DOES have Thatz and Rath with him. You and I _both_ know how much of a handful Rath can be at times. And Thatz is... well.... Thatz."

"I still think we should send someone out to find them."

"Why don't you talk to the Dragon Lord about that, then?"

"The Lord is MUCH too busy to deal with such trivial matters at this time," Alfeegi countered, bristling. "This is a simple disciplanary action -- the Dragon Knights need to learn how to be punctual."

"Oh," Kai-Stern said, realizing that nothing was actually going to be done about the situation, and that Alfeegi was just ranting again. "I see."

"Rath _alone_ is hard enough to deal with, much less without Thatz thrown along in there to excerbate the problem! Really, the two of them shouldn't be left to their own devices..."

Alfeegi said more, but Kai-Stern had stopped paying attention again. If he remembered correctly, he had already heard the "Thatz is a bad influence on Rath" rant about two hours ago, which -- if memory served -- was usually followed by the "Rath needs proper guidence" rant and the "Why don't they follow Rune's example?" rant. Strictly speaking, as long as he nodded every so often and gave vaguely agreeing sounds, Kai-Stern was safe to daydream for oh, at least an hour or so.

Well.

At least he didn't have anything better to do today.

Kai-Stern tried not to yawn.


	4. In Which Rath Is In A Tree

_**Title: **Another Day on the Road_

_**Summary: **It certainly took a long time for the Dragon Knights to get back from recovering Nadil's head. Or maybe not so long, considering all the side trips, demon fights, and treasure hunts the group went on. A missing tale from the road, where Rath fights, Thatz whines, and Rune wonders why he's doing this in the first place._

_**Notes: **As I have said before, this is a random story. Completely random! There is no planned plot, just random stories and stuff. If you like it, you like it. If not, whatever. I have a real Dragon Knights story posted also, if you'd rather have serious fiction. Kind of. It's slash, even. YAY SLASH. And the random Karl is for Megan-chan, because she Loves him. And because shit, it's Karl. He rocks. Annnnnnyway, so this is not the last chapter of this story. This is the last chapter of this ARC, but hey, I'll probably update more. Mischief comes in many forms. And I'm bored a lot._

_**Warnings: **KARL YAY KARL, Irritable!Rune, Hungry!Thatz, WTF Happened to You!Rath, and SEX. OMG SEX. ERM I MEAN SPARRING. Oh, and Mud Demons. Well, mention of Mud Demons, anyway._

_**Disclaimer: **OH NOES NOT FANFIC!1!1!1!2!one!1!_

**Another Day on the Road**

Once upon a time, there was a fairy princess named Shanna. She was lovely and delicate, with glistening silver hair and wide blue eyes that sparkled with an inner light. In the fairy kingdom, there were few who could say bad things about her, because she was gentle and kind and would always reach out a hand to help a friend in need. She was truly a great role model for all, and many other fairies aspired to be just like her.

Then one day, while Shanna was out in a forest, prancing and singing along her merry way, the One-Winged Angel came and killed her. The entire fairy community was devastated, and spent a year in mourning. They swore that they would find the One-Winged Angel and bring him to the justice he deserved.

And then they all were killed by the One-Winged Angel before they could. Losers.

Karl snickered.

He loved that story.

* * *

Rune sighed as he and Thatz trudged along. They had no idea where they were going, how far away the next town was, or even if they were going in the right direction. But walking around aimlessly was surely a better plan that staying in that cave with their wannabe-kidnappers. (Thatz agreed, especially considering that Rune wouldn't place bets on the winner of the fights.)

But still, it was really annoying to be traveling without any clue as to where to go. Especially considering that, sometime during the process of getting attacked by a tentacle demon, their food had run off.

"I could have _sworn_ it was in here," Thatz muttered, digging through his bag for what seemed like the millionth time since they had started walking. (It was actually only the seventh. But two of those times Thatz had physically stopped and searched through his bag. So by the seventh time, Rune was distinctly less than enthusiastic about the search.)

"Thatz," Rune said.

"--_dammit_, and I had that nice bread, too--"

"_Thatz._"

"--and I -- what?"

Rune gave him a Look. "You're not going to find any food. You've already looked through your bag. There is no food."

"But -- wait, we haven't searched yours--"

"Yes, you have. Twice."

"But--"

Just then, as the plot was starting to get stagnant and the characterization even more horrid, there was a crash from above them. Rune and Thatz paused as a couple small branches and leaves fell down to the ground.

"Umm--"

They looked up to see Rath entangled in a mixture of a fishing net and tree branches, hanging fifty feet in the air. Perched on a branch nearby was Fire, looking rather muddy and irritated.

There was a long moment where the three parties just stared at each other.

Rune was the first to break the silence. Sighing, he turned away and started walking down the path again, muttering, "I cannot believe this..."

"Hey!" Thatz cried, running after him. "Don't go away! You have the money, and I'm hungry!"

"HEY!" Rath shouted, thoroughly entangled in the net. "Aren't you guys going to HELP ME DOWN?"

Thatz paused, momentarily forgetting about Rune, and gave Rath a strange look. "How on Earth did that happen, _anyway_?"

"Well, there was this mud demon," Rath began, clearly excited to tell his story, "but this fisherman guy kept screaming something about it being his lover -- which, by the way, GROSS --, and so Fire and I -- wait, hey! RUNE!"

Rune was not listening. Actually, strictly speaking, Rune was trying as best as he possibly could to ignore his traveling companions -- both of whom were not currently traveling at all -- and finding it difficult. It probably had something to do with them shouting at him.

"Rune!"

"Rune, stop walking away and help me down!"

"Hey, fairy-boy, the Dragon Lord won't like it if you come back without us!"

"Yeah, he's right! Come help me down!"

Rune paused. Considered. Fretted. Seethed.

Thatz smirked. "Heh, I know you too well, don't I, Ru--"

A rock smashed into Thatz's face.

"--ACK!"

Rune snarled up at Rath. "After this, we are going back to Draqueen. No demon hunting!" He turned to glare at Thatz, "And no treasure hunting!" Inside, Rune was weeping for how much lost time that stupid tentacle demon had cost them. He wanted to be home, in DRAQUEEN, where he could get a proper shower and nice clothes and not have to worry about this stupid mission any longer.

"Do you understand me?" Rune finished, giving them both his best I'm About Two Comments Away From Slaughtering You Horribly glare.

There was silence. And then:

"_Yeah_, sure, Mom, whatever the fuck you say."

"I don't _care_, just get me down! The blood's rushing to my head and it's really annoying!"

Rune resisted homicide.

* * *

Back in the cave, Erinatsu and Mican were not arguing any longer.

They were still engaging each other in a battle of some sort, but words were not part of the exchange. Just the occasional grunt or moan or perhaps the gasping for air.

They were, of course, sparring.

Which can be taken in many different ways, but let it be known that this author is not a dirty person and would never, _ever_ reveal that there was, indeed, Sex happening. So that must mean that they were simply sparring, like every ordinary pair of fighters liked to do with one another. To keep each other battle ready.

...in BED.

Or in a cave. Whatever works.

* * *

It took the rest of the night for the Dragon Knights to make it to the next village. By this time, Rune had cooled off and was once again his usual calm-but-prone-to-random-surges-of-violence self. Thatz had been complaining about hunger for the past three hours, bemoaning the loss of his food. Rath was once again acting as if his mind was nothing more than a hamster running on a wheel, which in turn blinked a "KILL DEMONS" sign on in bright, neon colors.

Suffice to say, things were back to normal.

They were still no closer to Draqueen than they had been three days ago, but Rune was past caring for the night. And while Rath and Thatz were still _thinking_ about demons and treasure respectively, food and sleep had long since reached top priority on their to-do lists. After shoveling down a very hearty meal, the three knights collapsed exhausted into their beds, ready for a long, relaxing sleep after the (absolutely _stupid_) adventure they had just had.

By the time the morning rolled around, however, things were _really_ back to normal.

"Hey, Rune, I heard this thing from the innkeeper about an enchanted cave--"

"A what?"

"Yeah, it's supposed to be an old treasure hoard from--"

"No, we are NOT GOING TREASURE HUNTING."

"--demon thieves!"

"Demons? Really? Where?"

"No, Rath, we're not -- Thatz -- you guys, we need to go back to Draqueen."

"It's on the way!"

"And we'd be doing Lord Lukoleon a favor if we get rid of the demons!"

"Rath, Thatz just wants to search for treasure, not--"

"I want to fight demons, too, Rath! Don't believe Rune!"

"Yes! Demon hunting!"

"Let's go!"

"Hey -- no! Wait! Rath! Thatz!"

"Hurry up, Rune, or you'll get left behind!"

"Yeah, I'll kill all the demons before you even get there!"

"...we are NEVER going to get home..."


End file.
